When circumscribed in situation and restricted in disposition, seek profit from nearby and keep peril at distance. Fire above the lake.

In the late Warring States period, Qin emerged as the most powerful state and proceeded to destroy its rivals to gain control of all China. Though superior to any other single state, Qin was no match for the combined power of all the other states. Therefore it adopted the plan of eliminating the rival states one by one. A key strategy it employed in the process was to befriend distant states while attacking those nearby. It was proposed by the famous states-man of the time, FanSui. The successful application of this strategy led to the unification of China under the Qin Dynasty.